Tag Archives: legal

Last week, Year Up held a wonderful event at the home of Pam and Alan Trefler…not a fundraiser, more of a consciousness-raiser. The topic of discussion: How does food inequality relate to the Opportunity Divide?

First of all, what do we mean by “food inequality”? At a basic level, go to any inner city and try to buy a fresh vegetable. It’s tough to do. Or, price a gallon of milk at the local convenience store – it’s much more expensive than at Costco (which is a drive away and requires a car to access). Or, just ponder the fact that one out of every four children in America is currently on food stamps. It’s shocking.

How might this type of inequality relate to the opportunities to which one has access? The answer has to do with systems, and how they relate to and impact one another. By “systems” we mean housing, food, legal access, education, healthcare, and criminal justice; the systems we exist in as citizens, but often do not choose. We are placed in certain systems primarily because of our zip codes and socioeconomic status.

Here is a flow of logic to consider: if I am often hungry but do not eat nutritious food on a regular basis, it will be harder for me to focus and study at school. It is also likely that over time my health will be negatively impacted by this, which – if I don’t have access to regular medical care – may mean I miss school more frequently. The combination of these factors may cause my grades and education to suffer. Therefore, I may not do well on high-stakes tests (for instance, the SATs) which often dictate the expectations people have for me after high school. That is, if I even manage to graduate.

The food system, the educational system, and the healthcare system are all inter-related. At times, they can create a vicious vortex that even the persistent may find daunting to overcome. It is the very interdependence of these systems, especially in areas of concentrated poverty, which makes them so pernicious.

I don’t think we solved any problems last week as we pondered these questions, but the topic was very good “food for thought.”